I had recently reported on a particularly disgusting group called The Oath Keepers. I have yet to see a group quite as dangerous as I consider the Oath Keepers. Groups like the 9-12 Project and the Tea Party movement certainly have all the right moves- nationalist imagery, rhetoric about returning to a non-existent Golden Age, racist code words, inflammatory propaganda, and open calls for street fighting. Further, based on both my personal encounters and media reports their base of support seems to be from the Golden Triangle of Fascism- infuriated members of the middle class, lumpenized proles, and stepped on non-commissioned officers.

However, the Oath Keepers are even more troubling than the aforementioned groups who in comparison could easily be laughed off. The Oath Keepers are particularly troublesome because of their strong base among active and inactive military, as well as law enforcement, always fertile ground for fascist recruitment. Also troubling is the especially shrill pitch of their rhetoric. Again, their list of orders they won’t obey isn’t troubling… if you think that Barack Obama is a secret Muslim communist preparing to confiscate guns, force people in gay marriage, and have United Nations troops penning all resistance into internment camps. For my own part, I’m far more concerned about my liberties being taken away at gunpoint by people like the Oath Keepers, or a naked military coup d’etat.

Klintron made a really interesting point over at Mutate that these people were (un)surprisingly silent as George W. Bush continued the gutting of the Constitution that began under Clinton. It’s also worth noting that they make no comment on not arresting people for the non-violent drug offenses that make up most of the prison population, disproportionately effecting Blacks and the poor. For my own part, I wonder precisely what the response to groups like the Oath Keepers would be to a right-wing military coup that ousted the President.

An excellent analysis of why the Oath Keepers are troubling can be found here. I also find this article sent to me by BSG ally Tate to be worth a read. It seems that there are active duty soldiers in Iraq wearing tabs showing support for the Oath Keepers. What will become of these soldiers when they return to a place where they can’t shoot people with relative impunity? How would the military brass react if soldiers began wearing tabs reading “Workers of the World, Unite!”? What are we to make of the “three percenters” referred to in one of the tabs? The Oath Keepers website tells us that a “three percenter” is:

“The narrowest definition is that three percenters are hard-line gun owners who are done backing up and will not comply with more infringements of their right to bear arms. A broader definition would be that they are hard-line Americans who are done backing up and will not comply with further infringement of any of their rights. It also alludes to the three percent of the colonists who took to the field against the King during the Revolution, and the estimation that at least three percent of modern Americans will actively fight, if it comes to it, to preserve liberty.”

Keeping in mind the laundry list of things considered “infringement of rights” by the broader fascist and proto-fascist right- gay marriage, integrated public schools, teaching of science in public schools- this should give anyone concerned with civil liberties concern. Further, What the “three percenters” are saying is that three percent of the American population has no problem with imposing its will, at gunpoint, on the rest of us. These aren’t loons meeting in a basement, discussing radical ideas among themselves. These are highly trained men and women with the means to do to me and you precisely what they accuse the government of secretly plotting to do to them. And by all accounts the military is riddled with them.

Nor can we ignore the role of the media in emboldening these political vermin. As a final note, I would like to draw your attention to the head of the racist, fascist, anti-Semitic, Holocaust denying British National Party and his recent appearance on the BBC. To give some context, this would be like inviting the head of the KKK to speak on 60 Minutes as if he were the leader of a legitimate political movement and not a terrorist group directed at Blacks, homosexuals, and foreigners. For his own part, Nick Griffin seems to have a better understanding of the PR coup he has pulled off than do the people at the BBC. It doesn’t really matter if he is savaged with questions. The BBC has effectively said that fascism is as legitimate a point of view as liberalism or conservatism- both of which anyone who reads this blog regularly knows that I abhor. But at least the Brits have some clue how to deal with it.

Fasten your seat belts, kids. The 2010s are going to be a bumpy ride, indeed.